Kade's December Charlotte Taekwondo Tournament

Kade and I drove down to Charlotte on Friday, December 8th for a stay at Brian & Nancy's the night before the big tournament. There were a LOT of people at this event and he was feeling a bit nervous. 

Finally after waiting over an hour, at 10:45am, 8 & under's were called to their rings. Kade was nervous and passed on the chance to practice or loosen up until he was placed in his ring, ultimately stretching out with the other boys right before. 

First event - Forms. He was the very first one called out of 13 boys, alas I did not have my camera completely ready. We'll have to settle for photos this round. He completed "In Wha 1" as his Traditional Forms.

The first three competitors stand together to receive their scores whereas every competitor following gets their scores immediately. Kade scored 5, 5, 7 for forms from each judge respectively. 

This nunchuck routine is his "go to" for traditional weapons. He feels very confident with it, which is why he felt he didn't need to practice as much..... 

He scored fairly higher for this event - 7, 5, 7 from the judges. 

As there were thirteen boys in this ring, forms and weapons took quite a bit of time to complete. The next event, combat sparring, did not begin until 12:15pm.

Combat sparring was very competitive - Kade had a bye the first round, then competed against someone who was already "warmed up". Our little warrior lost 5-10 in his first and only sparring match (single elimination). 

I think he did better in Sparring, but time was not on his side....

When regulation time was completed, the score was 3-3 - next point wins. He ultimately lost out 3-5. I could tell Kade was feeling down - I cheered him on with comforting thumbs ups from across the mat when he sat down. Sometimes it's just not your day. 

Shortly after his sparring match completed, two other competitors in the ring took the battle outside the mat.... landing directly on Kade. He went down hard and hit his head on the concrete floor. Not the best "black belt attitude", but after taking a break to the bathroom, the two of us snuck out of the arena before the end. It was legitimately going to take another 45-60 minutes for them to finish the sparring event and award medals and the two of us were sour from the day - I saw other belts get divided into smaller rings (and also by height), but not this group. Kade hitting his head was the last straw and that was a wrap for us.  

Anyway - we had more people to visit!

We stopped in to visit Great-Aunt Carol and Great-Uncle Jeff (and Coco!!)!

We got to tour their new house and Kade was spoiled with mini cupcakes topped with a million sprinkles AND a mini Constitution! Kade has voiced about becoming a lawyer and I love that Uncle Jeff made him a little goodie bag for a would-be attorney! The best aunties and uncles spoil their nieces and nephews! ;) 

A tough morning for Kade, but he has such a great attitude and understanding - I hope he learns that it would only help him with a little more practice. Visiting Brian and Nancy (and the big blue house) the night before and Aunt Carol and Uncle Jeff made the trip to Charlotte a big WIN!

Early Christmas Family Get-together

Brock (10.5), Kade (8), Maddox (6), Asher (22 mos.)

Aunt Nancy, Uncle Brian, Maddox and Asher came to visit us the first weekend of December! 

It's amazing how when other kids play with your toys, you realize how cool they are all over again... ha! 

Someone was super excited to watch the matchbox cars race down the tracks!

Brock trying to hold a squirmy toddler for a picture!

Could you believe it - 70 degrees the first weekend of December! Even a cloudy day couldn't stop these boys from playing outside!

Nancy captured a great photo with all four cousins playing together!

Sunday morning, Papa and Nana Phyllis joined us for brunch. My Dad made his famous breakfast casserole and we added waffles, scrambled eggs, bacon, hash browns, and mimosas to the menu!

No photos of the spread, but we fit everyone around my dining room table - even Asher's high chair!

Nana with Papa and all his grandchildren!

Nancy trying to make the present more interesting than the wrapping paper and bows! 

I love Asher's little hand on Brock "I got this."

The big kids were just as interested in Asher's present! 

I love this moment too - after 1 1/2 days of avoiding Uncle Brent, he relented and melted into his shoulder for a hug!

Lots of hugs! The boys all had fun playing with each other!

Selfies!!

ALL of them are screaming!

The weekend went by in a flash with four boys - but we loved every minute! Thank you Brian, Nancy, Phyllis and my Dad for a wonderful weekend and all the gift-giving. These are very loved boys! So glad we could spend time together during this very busy month!  

Brock's Dual Meet vs Wave - November 2023

Brock competed in the Dual Meet vs WAVE, hosted at TAC in Cary the first weekend of November. He felt really comfortable swimming at a place that he was familiar with - and it showed!!

New coach, different process - Brock was signed up to swim in eight events over two days - more than double what he typically would do. Brock felt a little intimidated, but by the end, he said he loved it! 

The interesting thing about this meet is they had all similar times swimming together - whether you were girl/boy, 10 years old/14 years old.... and then they regroup for placements when finished. For example, within his heat, he may have placed fourth, but he placed 2nd in "10 & Under Boys". 

Brock's 100 yard Butterfly (Lane 9) - he looked great!

He bested his time for 50 yard Free! He was on a roll!!

Daylight Savings Time helped all of us wake up for Day Two/Sunday morning swim meet! Brock had to arrive by 8:15AM for warmups!

Brock is really learning to pace himself in these longer events. 

How strange that his usual "bread and butter" is the only event he added time! As other coaches have told us, he's built more for the 100yard events than the 50yard... 

Brock's least favorite stroke is most definitely Backstroke. We are so proud of him going into today (and yesterday) remaining positive and giving it his all!!

And he crushed this one too - watch for him in Lane 1!! Also watch at the very end - his buddy Nate was cheering him on at the other side of the pool - he's wearing his swim parka. Love all the team bonding!

Kade and I snuck out before the 500 yard Freestyle - but heard from Brent he did amazingly. He definitely paced himself - faster on his first and very last split. He never swam this far in any of his other races. So proud of him for sticking with it - and doing really well!!

Halloween 2023

I always love some Halloween crafts! Pearler beads, halloween bracelets with skeleton charms, and shrinky dinks!! 

They were too cute watching the process in the oven!

The weekend before Halloween, Kade's taekwondo studio had their annual Trunk or Treat. A family picture with Master Beddow in the background!

 

It had been so unseasonably warm here - 84 the weekend before Halloween - Brock and I took Moose for a walk to our "beach" (the creek that runs along our neighborhood). Moose didn't like it when Brock crossed the creek to the other side. He's such a protector!

Alas, Halloween day the cold front arrived and brought rain. It stopped in the evening for trick-or-treaters, but made for wet grass to run through - ugh!

Halloween picture - Brock in his Horror Ghoul costume, Moose as a bat, and Kade as a ninja (complete with two knives, a sword and throwing stars)!

Off they go to trick-or-treat! After about 40 minutes, the gang returned to unload and organize their candy. Kade wanted to go back out, but none of us were really feeling it. We convinced Brock to go take his brother and that was the best thing ever! I think they're old enough - as long as they stay together. So for 20 minutes more, we had the boys trick-or-treating by themselves! Aww, they're getting so big!